Johan Wolters

Johan was seven when Canadian troops arrived on April 5, 1945. He was helping his father in the shed when gunfire rang out. Nearby, a group of German soldiers fled from the village inn next door, crossing the river IJssel in a rowboat just minutes before Canadian forces reached the house. The Canadians ordered Johan’s family into the cellar for safety. A firefight broke out, one Canadian soldier was killed. Six days later, their home was hit by artillery and burned down. Johan’s family escaped to a nearby underground shelter. “We were minutes from death, “Johan recalls. “We owe our lives to the Canadians. Without them, we wouldn’t be here today.”

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Gorssel